Rwandan genocide fugitives

Phénéas Munyarugarama, one of the remaining five fugitives wanted for his participation in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, died in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002, according to UN prosecutors.

Munyarugarama, a local army commander, died “of natural causes” and was buried in Kankwala, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) in The Hague.

The news comes less than a week after the tribunal declared the death of Protais Mpiranya, the top surviving suspect in the 100-day killing of nearly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

“We hope this verdict gives some closure to the victims and survivors of Munyarugarama’s crimes in the Bugesera region,” the tribunal’s top prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, said in a statement.

Munyarugarama, a former lieutenant colonel in the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), was charged with eight charges by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, including genocide and crimes against humanity.

“Mass killings, assaults, and sexual violence against Tutsi civilians at numerous sites in the Bugesera area, including attacks on Tutsi refugees in the Ntarama and Nyamata Catholic churches,” the MICT added.

Prosecutors determined that Munyarugarama “died from natural causes on or about 28 February 2002 at Kankwala… where he was also buried,” according to the tribunal, following a “comprehensive and demanding inquiry.”

Only four fugitives remained on the tribunal’s files, according to the tribunal: Fulgence Kayishema, Charles Sikubwabo, Charles Ryandikayo, and Aloys Ndimbati.

Prosecutors claimed the Hutu-supremacist movement planned to meet in Kinshasa in late 2001 to discuss how to integrate into one organisation.
Munyarugarama “made a considerable journey on foot… headed for Kinshasa,” prosecutors added, flanked by two relatives and FDLR escorts.

“The voyage took several months and included challenging terrain such as rainforest, marshes, and multiple hazardous river crossings.”

The river crossings were challenging for Munyarugarama… Prosecutors alleged that after nearly drowning, he began reporting feeling sick to his traveling companions.

“Munyarugarama took unwell” and died in 2002, a few days after visiting the little community of Kankwala in North Katanga.